Silvretta Montafon

Montafon, VorarlbergSee it on the map

Foto: qwesy qwesy · CC BY 3.0

Region

Montafon, Vorarlberg

Country

Austria

Local time

Europe/Vienna

Currency

EUR

Opened

1993

Silvretta Montafon is the largest ski area in Vorarlberg, formed when the Hochjoch above Schruns and the Nova above St. Gallenkirch and Gaschurn were linked into one system of around 140 km of piste, from 700 m in the valley to just over 2,400 m. The Montafon is a long, deep valley running south-east from Bludenz towards the Silvretta massif and the Swiss border, and it has always been more of a locals' and Germans' valley than an international one.

The skiing is long. The signature run, the Hochjoch Totale, drops around 1,700 m over 12 km from the top of the Hochjoch to Schruns, one of the longest pistes in the Alps and a proper thigh-burner. The Nova side is steeper and more open, with the area's blacks and its best off-piste, and the resort markets itself hard as a freeride destination, with marked routes and a serious attitude to avalanche education.

The villages are pleasant rather than charming: Schruns is a small town with a railway station, Gaschurn and St. Gallenkirch are strung along the valley road. The Montafon regional pass also covers Gargellen and the small areas further up, useful on windy days.

Last reviewed 13 September 2026

Best suited to

Advanced skiers
Off-piste and freeride
Intermediates

Featured instructors at Silvretta Montafon

No instructors available at this resort yet

Nobody is offering lessons here for now — try a nearby resort, or check back soon.

Do you teach at Silvretta Montafon?

Join Alpine Pal, publish your profile and reach the customers already looking for lessons right here.

Become an instructor

Where lessons start

The valley floor is low and there is little to learn on there; the beginner areas are at the top stations of the gondolas, on the Hochjoch above Schruns and on the Nova side, where the terrain flattens into wide, sunny plateaus. Plan for a gondola ride before every lesson. The area is at its best for strong intermediates and advanced skiers who want long verticals and are curious about off-piste — the Montafon is a good, unglamorous place to take a first freeride course.

Getting there

The Montafon is reached from Bludenz, on the Zurich–Innsbruck main line, where the local Montafonerbahn train continues to Schruns in about twenty minutes; the upper villages are then a bus ride. By road, Zurich airport is around two hours, Friedrichshafen an hour and a half and Innsbruck two. The valley road beyond Schruns is a single route and gets busy at weekends, and the upper villages are far enough from Schruns that a car helps.

See it on the map Official resort website

Qualifications required in Austria

Teaching skiing or snowboarding for payment in Austria is a regulated profession: an instructor must hold the Skilehrer qualification. Instructors listed as certified on Alpine Pal have either sent theirs to us for review or are vouched for by the ski school that invited them.

Find instructors in Austria

Silvretta Montafon: common questions

Is the Hochjoch Totale hard?

Not technically — it is graded red for most of its length — but 12 km and 1,700 m of vertical in one go is a lot, and the lower section through the forest to Schruns gets narrow, busy and slushy by mid-afternoon in spring. Do it in the morning, with a stop at one of the huts on the way, and expect your legs to have an opinion about it the next day.